A Genomex Carol
by isindismay
Summary: On the eve of Christmas, Mason Eckhart is visited by three ghosts, or is it four? A certain group of New Mutants may be involved. Also Adam has a very unusual Christmas tradition.
1. Chapter 1: Breedlove's Ghost

**A Genomex Carol**

**Chapter One: Breedlove's Ghost**

Look around Sanctuary, bright and modern. No tree has been brought inside. No fire burns below a non-existent chimney. Five stockings are not hung above it. No tinsel adorns the computer monitors. No twinkling lights ruin the feng shui. Its minimalism is entirely untarnished by decoration.

No cookie crumbs litter the floor. No spilled mulled wine has been hastily mopped into a pink stain. The smell of roasting turkey is not in the air. And the sound of laughter certainly cannot be heard.

The Mutant X team sat around in a circle in the dojo in variations of the lotus position.

Brennan knew that his mind was supposed to be empty right now, or at least he was supposed to be letting his thoughts come and go without dwelling on them. But he couldn't stop thinking about egg-nog. His stomach rumbled.

Emma gave him a mental jolt, and he opened his eyes. She was smirking and trying to convey something with eye movement. Brennan raised his eyebrows, not understanding. She closed her eyes, then looked at him again, and then the essence of a soaring eagle filled his mind.

Emma uncrossed her legs and stood, trying not to make a noise.

Adam's eyes opened, and he looked at her critically.

"I need to use the bathroom," she said, walking around the others to the steps.

"You know what, me too," Brennan said, stretching and getting to his feet. "I just didn't wanna disturb anyone."

Emma shot him a look.

"Well guess what? You disturbed us," Jesse said.

"Oh yeah?" Brennan said.

"Guys, settle down," Adam said.

Jesse sighed and shut his eyes again.

Nobody saw Emma and Brennan walk towards somewhere the bathrooms weren't. There was a noise like a car engine starting.

"Hey Adam, that toilet flush doesn't sound right," Shalimar said.

"I'll look at it later. Now focus."

Emma and Brennan looked at each other and laughed as they drove down the private road that led away from Sanctuary. Anyone who drove down it by mistake wondered why the road abruptly stopped in front of a mountain. Which, if closely inspected appeared to have some sort of poorly camouflaged doorway set into it.

"Oh my god, I can't believe Adam celebrates Christmas with two whole days of meditation and fasting!" Emma said.

"I know, right? I thought he was joking," Brennan said, pulling out onto the public highway and putting his foot down on the gas.

"And Shalimar and Jesse just go along with it?"

"Looks like they do," Brennan said, shaking his head.

"I usually like meditating."

"But not for two days straight, right?"

"No way! So, where are we going to go?" Emma asked.

"I don't know about you, but I'm so hungry! I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

It took them a while because most places were fully reserved on Christmas Eve, but eventually they found a place that could fit them in for Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.

Afterwards, they went to a club. In their hurry to get away they hadn't been able to grab a change of clothes but fortunately they were both already dressed appropriately for the occasion. They stayed until the house lights came on.

"Hey guys, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here," the security guard said, ushering them towards the door.

"But I don't want to go home, I want to dance and have fun!" Emma wailed. "I think I can get him to change his mind." She smiled slyly at Brennan.

"Oh no, Emma. Come on, we can't stay in an empty club."

Emma sighed. "Fine. Gimme the keys."

Brennan put his hand in the pocket of his leather jacket and tossed the keys to Emma. He missed completely and they landed on the sidewalk behind her. She bent to pick them up. "You know, every time you buy a girl a drink you don't have to buy two for yourself."

"Ouch," Brennan said. "Well at least I don't go making a fool of myself on the dance floor when I'm completely sober."

Emma crossed her arms. "I get a lot of compliments about my dancing actually."

They got back to the car and got in. Emma started the engine and sang along to the radio. Brennan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the streets looked familiar but wrong.

"Hey Emma, this isn't the way back to Sanctuary," he said.

"I know."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see," she said with a gleam in her eye.

Brennan's heart lurched as he saw the sprawling art deco monstrosity that was Genomex's headquarters come into view.

"Hey Emma, I like breaking into Genomex as much as any of us, but I don't think right now is the best time," Brennan said, following Emma through the gap in the fence that miraculously never got fixed.

"No Brennan, this is the perfect time. This is literally the only time I can do this."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

"But Adam's gonna be so mad. We're lucky he hasn't come looking for us already," Brennan said, looking around as they stepped into the open and scrambled down a grassy hill.

"It'll be worth it, trust me."

Emma looked like she knew where she was going. She led him to one of the smaller buildings near the water and started ascending a set of stairs that led up to a fire escape.

The stairs passed a window on the top level. They both ducked under it, but Brennan couldn't resist peering in.

It was a bedroom. Brennan was startled by the sight of the pale face and hair of Mason Eckhart. He looked small, sleeping with the black quilt pulled up to his chin. Against all rational explanation, he was wearing a black pinstriped nightcap.

Along with a lamp and his glasses, a small stylised metal tree sat on the nightstand.

"Even Eckhart has a Christmas tree and we don't?" Brennan uttered in disbelief.

Emma grabbed his arm and pulled him out of sight of the window to the top of the stairs. They sat down on the top step. Emma was grinning to herself.

"So what are we doing here?" he asked her.

"What? You still haven't figured it out?" she asked. "I'm gonna teach Eckhart a lesson, the way only I can."

"All right, I want in on this."

"Okay," Emma said, holding out her hand.

Brennan just looked at it.

"I'm going into his mind. If you want to come you'll have to hold my hand."

Brennan smirked. "That doesn't sound like telempathy, Emma," he said.

"Are you seriously arguing with me about my own power?" she said, grabbing his hand.

Emma shut her eyes and focused on the swirl of emotions around her. She could feel Brennan's mind beside her. He was feeling both awkward and childishly giddy about holding her hand.

Mason's mind was a sharp contrast. Even internally his emotions were buried, and all she could sense was a determined concentration. He was dreaming.

Emma pulled Brennan along with her into Mason's dream, careful to stay on the edges. Mason was sat opposite Adam at a lab bench. They both looked younger and were playing a game that was a cross between Chess and Snakes and Ladders. Adam was winning.

Concentrating, Emma took on the form of a man she had only ever seen in photographs. Paul Breedlove, ex-Genomex employee and Adam's old mentor.

"Mason Eckhart!" she made Paul say, rattling the chains on his wrists. She wasn't sure what his voice sounded like, so she tried to make it like a character from a book she had once read, deep and heavy, slamming like underground doors.

Mason looked up and then stood, squinting. Adam and the board game went hazy and disappeared when he looked away from them. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"You killed me!" Paul said, rattling the chains again.

Mason raised his eyebrows. "Did I?" he asked. "Who are you?"

"I am Dr Paul Breedlove."

"Ah. I didn't recognise you at first. You didn't look quite like yourself."

"You killed me," Paul repeated.

Mason frowned. "No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"I didn't kill you. Mr Thorne did."

"Oh. But you ordered him to kill me?" Paul's voice was starting to waver now.

"I didn't. He came up with the idea on his own."

"Oh."

A moment passed where they just looked at each other. Chains creaked.

"Nevertheless!" Paul rallied. "Two more ghosts will visit you before the night is through-" His head snapped from side to side and he appeared to talk to himself. "Three. What do you mean? There's three ghosts. Are you sure? Yes! Haven't you seen Scrooge? Well... You haven't, have you?"

"The 1951 film is my favourite," Mason said.

Paul Breedlove's head snapped back round to the front. "No-one asked you!"

Mason flinched, but quickly recovered. "I recall you liked the Blackadder parody, Paul."

"Yes. Yes I did."

"Remind me, what was your favourite part?" Mason asked, smirking and pacing up and down in front of him.

Emma was stuck for a reply. She mentally turned to Brennan, who was none the wiser. "The part with the snake," she made Paul say eventually. And rattled the chains again for effect.

Mason stopped pacing and stared. He was momentarily lost for words. "The snake," he said slowly.

"Two more ghosts- no, three!"

"Yes, three. There were four ghosts in total," Mason supplied.

"_Three_ ghosts will visit you before the night is through. And they will show you the error of your ways!"

Mason cocked his head to one side. "All right. I'll look forward to it."

With a last rattle of chains, Emma pulled herself and Brennan out of Mason's dream.

Back on the staircase, Brennan shook Emma by the shoulder. "What was that about?" he demanded.

She looked pleased with herself. "Great isn't it? This will show him the error of his ways. Always works in the movies."

"It didn't look like Eckhart was scared by the ghost."

"Oh he was scared for sure. I could tell," Emma said.

Brennan didn't look convinced.

"Brennan! Come on, you gotta help me. What comes next?"

"Have you even seen Scrooge?"

"I saw the muppet version at a friend's house once. A bit of it anyway."

"Emma!"

"What? You've seen the movie. You can do the next bit."

"This was your idea," Brennan said, getting up and leaning on the railing of the staircase.

Emma stood up. "Brennan, tell me you've seen it."

"Well, yeah, but I never thought there was gonna be a quiz on it."

"We could wing it."

"I don't think there was a snake in Blackadder, Emma."

"Well I realise that now," she said, looking out over the water. "I should have brought Jesse, he would know this."

* * *

I wanted to write a Christmas fic. I also wanted to write something for Mutant X with all of the (season one regular) characters. So here you have it in all its ridiculous glory. My only regret is that I couldn't think of a funny title, so you're gonna have to deal with this.

There will be more before Christmas (probably!)


	2. Chapter 2: The Ghost of Mason's Past

**A Genomex Carol**

**Chapter Two: The Ghost of Mason's Past**

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that this story would work much better visually. If I could just round up a crew and some actors... that'll probably be the last time I'll be allowed to visit the RC Harris Filtration Plant. (You can read about my past misadventures to that place here: post/187837127025/the-rc-harris-filtration-plant-visit-2019 )

* * *

In Sanctuary, not a creature was stirring. Adam, Shalimar and Jesse were still meditating in the dojo.

A hissing sound broke the silence.

Shalimar opened her eyes and glanced at Jesse. It seemed to be coming from his comm-link ring.

Jesse put his hand over his comm-link to mute it. "I'm gonna go look for Brennan and Emma. They've been gone for a long time."

Shalimar smirked at him. "They have, haven't they?"

As Jesse hurried down the steps, Shalimar looked at Adam. He still had his eyes closed. "Rather him than me. Who knows what those two are up to?"

Adam didn't look amused. "Remember Shalimar, the idea of meditation is to ignore outside distractions."

There was that noise again. It sounded like an engine, but Shalimar knew better.

"And how am I supposed to do that when we have that commotion going on?"

"See it as a challenge, not as a hindrance."

"I really think you should call the plumber to look at those pipes," she said.

"I told you, I will. But for now, focus."

* * *

Jesse wasn't really sure what Brennan was trying to tell him over the comm-link, he sounded like he had been drugged or something. And it was hard to understand him because he kept laughing. So he jumped in a car and got to Genomex as quickly as he could.

When he arrived he saw another one of Adam's cars parked in the street behind the complex. He pulled up behind it and headed for the gap in the fence. Frost was starting to form on the grass.

"Brennan, where are you?" he said into his comm-link ring.

"I can see you Jess, you're heading in the right direction," came the reply.

"Are you sure?" Jesse asked. "This isn't the usual way in." Then he looked up and saw a grinning Brennan waving at him from the tallest building in the Genomex complex. "Brennan, what are you doing up-" Jesse began, but then dropped the hand with his ring on. "Never mind, I'm coming."

The grass crunched under his feet. It was a cold night and frost was beginning to form. He looked around for security, but the place seemed to be deserted.

He jogged up the metal stairs to the fire escape. Brennan stood at the top, Emma sat beside him with her elbows resting on her knees. "So?" he said.

"Jess, we need your help," Brennan said, and that was all he could manage before he collapsed into laughter. "Em, you tell him."

"Stop laughing Brennan, it's not funny," Emma said, slapping him on the back of the knee. That only made him laugh harder. "We're here to teach Eckhart a lesson."

"All right. But on Christmas eve?" Jesse said.

"Well would you rather be back at Sanctuary in complete silence with Adam?" Emma said.

Jesse frowned. "We do that every year. It's cleansing." He crossed his arms.

"So I really need to know, have you seen Scrooge? Or A Christmas Carol?" Emma asked him.

"Aren't they the same movie?" Jesse asked.

Emma and Brennan looked at each other. Brennan started laughing again. Emma's brow furrowed. "But you remember the story, right?"

"Yeah, there's this old miser and he gets visited by three ghosts," Jesse said.

Emma smirked. "Three. Told you, Brennan."

"No, it's four! Come on Jess, what about his business partner?" Brennan said.

"Oh yeah, Marley, of course! So yeah, four including him."

"Okay, so Marley, then the Ghost of Christmas Past, then the Ghost of Christmas Future. Three ghosts."

"You forgot the Ghost of Christmas Present," Jesse said.

"I'd have liked a Christmas present," said Emma.

"And I'd have liked to have been invited on this secret mission a bit earlier," Jesse said, crossing his arms again.

"All right, then you can be the Ghost of Christmas Past," Emma said, shifting over on the step to make room and gesturing to Jesse to sit next to her.

"No, Marley's first."

"We've already done Marley," Brennan said.

"You have? Huh," Jesse said, sitting down on the step.

"Well, we pretended to be Breedlove," Emma said.

"Oh, you met Breedlove?" Jesse asked.

"No. But I saw a photo of him once."

"And Eckhart bought it?"

"Think so," Emma said, offering him her hand.

"You're cold!" Jesse said, trying to rub some warmth back into it.

"I know, I didn't bring a jacket," she said, glancing down at her sleeveless top. Perfect for clubbing, not so much for sitting outside a fire escape. "Okay, I'm going to take you inside Eckhart's dream, so don't let go of me. Brennan, are you in?" She held out her other hand to him.

"Count me out. I've seen enough of Eckhart's dreams. I'll be the lookout."

"Okay." Emma shut her eyes, and Jesse waited for something to happen. She was digging her nails into his palm.

"What's wrong?" Jesse asked.

Emma opened her eyes. She looked worried. "He's awake," she breathed.

"Couldn't be because we've been talking loudly for the past ten minutes?" Brennan said.

Jesse shook his head. "All buildings are now one hundred percent sound-proof, you know that Brennan."

"Yeah, of course they are."

"I could phase us through the wall, and you can do use your illusionist ability on him," Jesse suggested.

"I'm not an illusionist, Jesse!" Emma said, snatching her hand away from his. "It's part of my telempathy!"

Brennan and Jesse shared a knowing look.

"But good idea, let's do it," she said, as they stood up and took each other's hand again. They looked at each other, then Jesse turned them both intangible, and they stepped through the wall.

* * *

Mason Eckhart sat up in bed, and was greeted by a ghost. Or at least the image of somebody underneath a white sheet with holes for the eyes. "Ah, you're finally here," he said, picking up his glasses and putting them on.

"I am the Ghost of-"

"Christmas Past, yes I know that," Mason said, getting out of bed and smoothing the covers down. "Now what do you have to show me?"

"We- I mean, I have come to show you horrible visions of Christmases- really? No, nostalgic visions of Christmases past," the ghost said.

"A moment, if you will," Mason said, slipping his feet into pinstriped slippers that matched his nightcap. He walked over to the door to unhook a black velvet pinstriped robe and put it on over his ankle length nightshirt.

Mason walked over to the Ghost of Christmas Past and nodded at it. The Ghost vaguely waved the bits of the sheet that were covered by its arms, and the scene changed.

They were now standing in a large dining room. A family sat around a table filled with a Christmas feast. There was a father with a pipe in his mouth, a literal smaller version of Mason, and a younger girl. All three of them had pure white hair and wore glasses.

A woman with a white beehive and 1940s dress came into the room carrying a teapot. "More tea, darling?" she asked.

"Yes please, Mummy," small Mason said. He held up a tiny cup and saucer and his mother filled it. He then lifted his sister's cup.

"Thank you big brother, I love you," she said.

"I love you too, little sister."

"Nothing like a lovely cup of tea in the best china on Christmas Day, is there dear?" the father said as the mother filled his cup.

"It's so lovely. We have the most perfect family in the world and I just... I just can't-" The mother let out a sob and quickly covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

"Don't cry Mummy, it's the happiest day of the year," small Mason said.

Adult Mason turned to give the Ghost of Christmas Past a sidelong glance. "Please explain why you brought me to watch this freakish British family," he said.

"Why, don't you recognise your own family?" the Ghost of Christmas Past said.

Mason sighed. "I would. But this is certainly not them."

The Ghost looked sheepish. Which was an achievement for a sheet with two eye holes. "Come, we must move along!" it said.

They were now in the streets of London, complete with regulation picturesque raggedy orphans. Big Ben, The Tower of London and Buckingham Palace could be seen on the other side of the Thames.

Mason, now a young man, knelt in front of a lady. He was putting a ring on her finger.

"No, I won't marry you, Mason. Not now I know about the awful things you do to those poor mutants," she said. She pulled the ring off her finger and flung it into the river. Then she turned towards the older Mason and the Ghost of Christmas past to walk away, and when she did her face was completely devoid of features.

Mason didn't flinch when she walked straight through him. He turned to the Ghost. "I would rate this experience two out of ten. Which you only get for the effort of putting together this debacle. Return me to my bedchamber."

"But we have so much more to show- No we don't, let's go back."

The scene changed back to Mason's bedroom.

"How do you feel about seeing these visions from your past?" the Ghost asked.

"I don't know whose past you showed me, but it isn't mine. I expect there will be two more of you. Well make it quick, I'm a busy man." Mason took off his robe and slippers, then got back into bed and glared at the Ghost until it went away.

* * *

Emma and Jesse stepped back through the wall onto the staircase. Brennan was shivering and breathing on his hands. "How did it go?"

"Well, not great. As somebody thought Eckhart was British," Emma said, putting her hands on her hips.

"He isn't?" said Brennan.

Jesse shrugged. "Evidently not."

"Well what's with that accent?"

"Who knows? Maybe he thinks it intimidates people."

"Makes sense. British people are always the bad guys in movies," Brennan said.

"Guys, I need a volunteer to be the Ghost of Christmas Present," Emma said.

"You really want to carry on with this?" Jesse said. "Well, I'm not doing it."

"Me either," said Brennan.

"Then I only have one choice," Emma said.


	3. Chapter 3: The Ghost of Mason's Present

**A Genomex Carol**

**Chapter Three: The Ghost of Mason's Present**

If anything, Sanctuary was even less festive than it had been earlier. All was quiet, all was still. Until Shalimar heard her own name being called through her comm-link ring.

She quickly covered the ring with her other hand and opened up one eye. Adam didn't seem to have noticed. Good. She got up and silently padded down the steps and over to the bathrooms, wondering what on earth her team mates were up to.

When she got there, none of the bathrooms were occupied. "Hey Em, what's up? Where are ya?" she whispered into her comm-link.

"Shal!" Emma sounded breathless. "I need your help. Come to Genomex."

"Say n'more, I'm already there!" Shalimar replied, jogging to her room to get into her leathers and boots then headed for the garage.

* * *

Shalimar zoomed through the streets on her motorcycle and arrived at Genomex in record time. "Hmm, so this is where the cars are," she said to herself, dramatically pulling up diagonally behind them. She took off her helmet and shook her head forward then backward to flip her hair. It would eventually cause her neck problems, but it was worth it in case anyone was watching.

Emma was already telempathically reaching out to her, guiding her to her location. Shalimar jogged in slow motion across the grass, the softly falling snow making it even more dramatic than usual.

Shalimar spotted the rest of the team at the top of a staircase. They hadn't spotted her yet. She smiled to herself, and took a really quite unbelievable leap, grabbed the railing to give herself one last push, and landed behind them.

"Have ya missed me?" she said with her trademark grin.

The other members of Mutant X whirled around to face her.

"So, what are we all doin' here?" Shalimar asked.

Emma explained. "That was a long explanation," she said afterwards, shivering and rubbing her bare arms.

Shalimar raised an eyebrow and looked meaningfully at Brennan. "So, what, you're gonna take a girl out and not lend her your jacket?"

Brennan huffed and took his jacket off, then handed it to Shalimar.

She raised her hands in front of herself. "Not me, Emma."

"Here you go," Brennan said, putting his jacket over her shoulders.

"Thanks Brennan," Emma said, pulling it around herself. The snow was coming down faster now.

Jesse was eyeing Brennan, who had taken the opportunity to flex his muscles. "Hey, you're not the only one who gets to show your guns off," he said, pulling off his own jacket. "Hey Em, take mine too."

"You didn't need to, but thanks Jesse," Emma said, accepting a second jacket.

"Oh come on Jess, we all know who the viewers want to see more of," Brennan said.

"Excuse me, the who now?" said Jesse.

"Come on guys, you've both got plenty of fans but I have more than you two combined," Shalimar said, patting them both on the shoulder.

"Would you guys just stop? We're on a mission here," Emma said.

"Oh yeah. So, Ghost of Christmas Present? Can't believe ya called me for this. Easiest one for sure. This is gonna be a piece of cake," Shalimar said.

Emma's arm emerged from under the jackets and she took Shalimar's hand. "Ready?" she said.

"Uh-huh."

Emma closed her eyes. Shalimar noticed her frowning. "Hey Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna need you to take us through. Eckhart's still awake."

"Oh no, I'm not going back in."

"Please Jesse!" Emma said. "He won't see you. He'll only see what I want him to see."

Jesse still looked dubious.

"Look, you can go hide in the wardrobe if you want. You're the only one who can do this."

"Okay, but you owe me." Jesse stepped in between them and took both of their hands, then phased the three of them through the wall.

* * *

Mason was sitting up in bed as if he was waiting for the next visitor. "The Ghost of Christmas Present, I expect," he said.

"That's my line," said the Ghost.

"An improvement on the Ghost of Christmas Past, I must say," Mason said, getting out of bed. "But I do not recall any of the ghosts being so improperly dressed."

"What? Well what the heck are you wearing? I mean, have ya even looked in the mirror?"

"So the Ghost of Christmas Present has come to mock me for my nighttime apparel. How original." Mason folded his arms, looking bored.

"And that's not all," said the Ghost, striding over and grabbing Mason by the arm before he could protest.

They floated through the window, and Jesse watched from the wardrobe, where he hid behind twenty very similar black pinstriped suits.

"I've never seen the city from this angle," Mason said as he and the Ghost of Christmas Present flew overhead. His robe billowed out behind him. Thankfully the Ghost's minimal clothing was skin-tight, so only its hair was blown in the wind.

"We see this view all the time," the Ghost said. "I mean I do. Funny, that looks like the CN Tower. I thought this was supposed to be an American city?"

They floated down in a residential area and saw Dr Kenneth Harrison walking up the path to a house, still wearing his lab coat.

"Son! I thought you weren't coming this year," an old lady at the door said.

"Merry Christmas, Mother. I've got you a new couch, and a whole new kitchen," he said. There were two delivery trucks behind him in the street.

His mother squinted at the men unloading large boxes onto the sidewalk. "Well how did you get them to deliver at this time?"

"I paid extra for the special night time delivery, so it would be an extra special surprise for you. We got such a large Christmas bonus this year, I figured why not?"

"Dr Harrison looks happy enough. And so does his mother. However I am not sure they will find someone to fit the kitchen until the new year," Mason said.

"And I paid extra for them to fit the kitchen and take the old one away tonight," Kenneth added.

"Oh that's just marvellous, son!" his mother said, clasping her hands together.

Mason looked at the Ghost, who took him by the hand again and lifted them both back into the air. "Let's try someone else," the Ghost said.

They sped over the rooftops. "That's definitely The Rogers Centre," the Ghost commented on the way.

This time they came down in a completely different neighbourhood. Gunshots could be heard, as well as several car alarms going off. The Ghost led Mason to the window of a small house.

Inside, a family crammed around a table that almost filled a small room. The table was covered with an enormous Christmas feast. A middle aged woman was dabbing her cheeks with a kleenex. "This is the best Christmas we have ever had," she said tearfully. "I'm so proud of you for finally holding down a job, Letitia. We never thought you would, not with your problem."

"Mom," said Letitia, who Mason recognised as one of his promising new GS Agents.

"Come on now dear, you know Tia can just see a bit more than the rest of us," said a man who must be her father. "Letitia? What's the matter?"

Letitia was staring straight out of the window. She rubbed her eyes. "Nothing," she said, "just thought I saw my boss and some monstrous woman outside for a moment."

"Well invite them in!" her mother said.

"Okay, we've seen enough," said the Ghost, pulling on Mason's sleeve.

"I must have been imagining things," Letitia said.

"And that's another win for the Toronto Blue Jays playing at home tonight in Toronto!" the announcer called as the Ghost and Mason flew over the baseball stadium.

"Monstrous woman?" the Ghost grumbled. "This isn't how it's supposed to be."

"My staff seem perfectly happy. I do not know what you expected to see," Mason said.

"I give up, I'm takin' ya back. No! Yes. I'm not doin' this any more," the Ghost said.

"Tell me, do all festive ghosts have multiple personalities?" Mason asked.

"Look, aren't ya at least jealous? 'Cause those people are with their families, and you're alone on Christmas Eve."

"It's late," Mason said. "I was peacefully sleeping until I was rudely interrupted."

The green, snow covered rooftops of Genomex came into view.

"Doesn't it bother ya that ya live where you work?" the Ghost asked.

Mason glanced at the Ghost, then looked away. "It's convenient," he said.

The Ghost sighed.

They floated back in through the window.

"Tell the Ghost of Christmas Future to hurry up. Five minutes, maximum. I'm a busy man and I need my sleep," Mason said, taking off his slippers and getting back into bed.

"Shalimar?"

"Oh crap!" said the Ghost.

Mason's eyes widened. "Adam?" he said, recognising the voice.

"You're hearing things," the Ghost said.

"Says a so called ghost," Mason retorted.

"Quick, let's go!"

* * *

"Adam's been calling us," Brennan said as the other three phased back through the wall. He was tossing his comm-link ring up in the air and catching it.

"Yeah, us too. Nearly blew our cover but I think I just saved it," Shalimar said.

"Um, Emma?" Brennan said.

"What Brennan?"

"Where's my jacket?"

"Huh?"

"My jacket. You were wearing it."

"What? Oh-"

"You had mine too," said Jesse.

"I must have dropped them. Look, it was complicated to get you out of the wardrobe without it looking weird, especially in such a hurry!"

"We need to go back in," Jesse said.

"Plus, what was that, Shalimar? That was the worst one yet!"

"Just showed him what was goin' on," Shalimar said with a shrug. "Can't help it wasn't bad stuff."

"You should have made something up! That's what the rest of us did!" Emma cried.

"Well ya should have told me if that was what we were doin'!" Shalimar exclaimed.

A gust blew a flurry of snow right at them. They turned to see the Double Helix land not so stealthily in these weather conditions.

"Oh no, Adam's here," Jesse said. "We're in big trouble, guys."

"No, this is good," Emma said. "Adam can help. There's one more ghost, so we have to make this a good one. Adam will know something to really freak Eckhart out. I'm sure of it."


	4. Chapter 4: The Christmas Truce

**A Genomex Carol**

**Chapter Four: The Christmas Truce**

This train wreck of a fic is finally screeching to a halt. Hope it is half as enjoyable as it is stupid. I wrote this very fast compared to my usual snail's pace, so I'll at least be proud of that, okay? So it's done for ya'll who have nothing better to do over Christmas. (Seriously you can come talk to me about Mutant X at Christmastime or anytime, I absolutely meant the thing about the space documents in my profile).

I have unearthed an unfinished fanfic of mine that is so old it is practically fossilised. I am planning to re-edit and finish it. Have I fallen back deep into the Mutant X fandom or did I never actually get out?

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Adam's mouth was dry. The two day Christmas fast was his own rule, but he still felt bad about breaking it. None of the others had returned yet, so he decided to sneak off to the kitchen for a glass of water.

It was very quiet he noticed as he turned on the faucet a tiny bit to avoid making a noise. The least he could do was be a good example for the others.

Out of curiosity, he walked by the bathrooms. None of them were occupied. He frowned and walked a lap around Sanctuary.

"All right guys, you can come out now. The joke's over," he said loudly.

There was no response.

"Oh, it's like that, is it?"

Adam spent the next half hour sneaking around Sanctuary and leaping out around corners.

Finally, he sat down at the bottom of the dojo stairs. Who was he kidding? He might have superior intellect, but it was no match for someone who had the wits of a feline, someone who could hide in walls, someone who could make him believe anything she wanted, and whatever Brennan had in terms of stealth abilities.

He stood up. There was one place that he hadn't thought to check.

Adam stood in the doorway of the garage, gobsmacked. "Where are all of my cars?" he shouted. He exhaled. "I should have known those guys would be too disorganised to carpool!"

He raised his comm-link ring to his mouth. "Shalimar?" he called. She was the last to leave. He tried the others, but got no reply.

He headed to a computer to track their locations. It showed that they had all taken their rings off, but each of them showed the same last tracked location.

Genomex.

Eckhart wouldn't, Adam told himself. Not on Christmas Eve, surely. And what could he have done, abducted them straight from Sanctuary? Impossible.

He hurried toward the Double Helix, which was one his remaining method of transport. Yes, he could technically walk to Genomex but it hardly set the right impression, did it?

No, his team must have left Sanctuary. And gone where? He had some questions for them when he found them. Why had they all left him? He stewed about this on the flight there, as the Double Helix flew completely on autopilot and Genomex was top of the frequently visited locations list, so he literally had to sit down and press one button.

The Double Helix landed itself on one of Genomex's immaculate lawns. Adam strode out of the jet, wondering where his team were. He didn't have to look far.

"Hey Adam, have you ever seen Scrooge?" Brennan called to him.

Adam jogged up the steps. "No I haven't, but I know the book," he said. He stopped when he was almost at the top and faced his team. It was snowing and only Shalimar was wearing a coat. He shook his head. It was like looking after children. "So what's going on up here? You clearly haven't been captured. Why would you run away from me like that?"

"We didn't run away from ya," Shalimar said.

"No, we wouldn't do that, Adam," Emma said.

"Yeah, course we wouldn't," Brennan said.

Adam eyed his team suspiciously. "Then what are you doing up here of all places?"

Emma told him. To her surprise he did not look impressed.

"And you thought this was more important than focusing on your spiritual side over the season?" Adam said.

"We were going to come straight back, Adam," Jesse said.

"Oh yeah? You two have been gone for hours," Adam said, pointing at Brennan and Emma. "And you've been drinking, Brennan."

"What?," Brennan said, laughing in mock surprise. "No I haven't."

"I can smell the alcohol on you!"

An alarm caused them all to turn around. In the now open doorway, Mason swore and fumbled for the button that turned off the alarm for the fire escape door. He looked like a stripy Scrooge. "So which one of you is the Ghost of Christmas Future? I told you I wasn't prepared to wait long."

"Where are your security staff, Mason?" Adam asked.

"I gave everyone a couple of days off. I can watch over everything from here," Mason said.

"That's... nice?" Shalimar whispered to Emma in some confusion.

"And yet you have five intruders that didn't notice!" Brennan remarked, forming a ball of electricity in the palm of his hand in warning.

"Didn't notice? That is not strictly true," Mason said. "I believe you left something behind?" he added, holding out Brennan and Jesse's jackets.

The guys looked at each other, but their hesitation gave Emma the opportunity to grab both of the jackets and wrap them around herself.

"Hey, no fair!" said Jesse.

Emma smirked at him.

Adam laughed. "I can see the headlines now. Security Chief compromised after sending all staff home for Christmas."

Mason glared at him. "I bet your team doesn't know that you're not even a real doctor, Adam. Yes, I know about your fake degree from the Hollywood Online Medical School!"

"I paid a lot of money for that. They told me it would say Stanford on the certificate," Adam grumbled. "Wait! How do you know that?"

"I grew suspicious after I saw you repeatedly wasting reagents by overfilling glassware and letting it bubble over. So I checked your personnel file."

"Oh yeah, but what about your fake illness? You were cured years ago but pretend you weren't so you can whinge and act like you've got some kind of motivation for your evil actions."

"Evil?" Mason said. "Is that what you really think of me?"

"Yes. Obviously you are," Emma said.

"My staff have been given extra days off and handsome Christmas bonuses due to our successes over the past year. Are those the actions of an evil man?" Mason said.

"You can still be an evil influence on society as a whole while simultaneously treating your staff decently," Adam said.

Jesse massed out, Brennan readied a ball of electricity, Shalimar's eyes flashed orange. Emma just stood there wearing two jackets, looking like she could theoretically use her psionic powers at any moment.

Mason's expression was unreadable. None of the team made a move, they were all looking to Adam for a cue.

"Christmas truce?" Adam and Mason said together, as if by some sort of Christmas miracle. If either of them had spoken first, the other would have been canonically required to refuse vehemently.

The Mutant X team relaxed.

Brennan looked at Jesse. "Oh jeez, did anyone bring a soccer ball?"

"I know, right?" Jesse said.

Mason sighed. "Come around to the main entrance, I will let you in. I have a veritably fatal supply of mince pies and mulled wine that I need assistance in consuming."

"I told you he was British!" Jesse said to Emma.

"I am not British, I am Canadian like the rest of you," Mason said.

The Mutant X team looked at each other uncomfortably.

"Nah, we're all good American guys and gals," Shalimar said, grinning a little too widely.

"And you can tell what ridiculous future visions you had in mind to traumatise me with. That should be entertaining." Mason shut the door almost all the way, but then opened it again. "And Mr Kilmartin, you are right. There was no snake in Blackadder." Then he shut the door properly.

Emma looked embarrassed. She stared at her feet and mumbled, "Well I didn't know."

"I told you," Jesse said.

"Well you could have told me before!"

"How? You just blurted it out!"

Adam fell into step with her as they all walked down the stairs. "Don't worry Emma, they're both wrong. There was a snake in the opening credits of season two."

"We were talking about the Christmas special," Jesse told him.

"Oh. In that case, no snake," Adam said.

As promised, Mason met them at the main entrance of the building and let them into an extravagant dining room. They sat and talked and laughed about past clashes as they ate and drank.

Brennan had just finished his second glass of mulled wine when something occurred to him. "Wait. This isn't poisoned, is it?"


End file.
